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The impact of restructuring the language arts intervention program and its effect on the academic achievement of English language learners

THE IMPACT OF RESTRUCTURING THE LANGUAGE ARTS INTERVENTION PROGRAM AND ITS EFFECT ON THE
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF ENGLISH
LANGUAGE LEARNERS
by
Denise L. Parnell
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
May 2008
Copyright 2007 Denise L. Parnell

Trends in the performance of students attending Mitchum Elementary School in 2005-2006 school year compared to the performance of students attending in the 2006-2007 school year were examined. The study has a particular focus on the achievement of English language learners, the mean annual school-wide Academic Performance Indices and the percentage of proficient and above using the Annual Yearly Progress indicator, as well as the EL learner s performance on the California English Language Development Test.; A formative and summative evaluation was used to evaluate EL learner's progress in language development after participating in a restructured ELD program. Formative evaluation consisted of informal interviews during academic conferences, site observations and analysis of student work. Summative evaluation results were utilized to measure EL learners English language arts California Standards Test scores and the California English Language Development Test scores from the 2005-2006 school year through the 2006-2007 school year. A comparison was made to a control school, Moonstruck Elementary, which did not implement restructuring: Target Time ELD sessions, research-based strategies or a focused accountability system.; The focus of this evaluation was to discover how much of an impact these interventions have on school-wide achievement and especially, the EL learners' achievement, both in English language development and the California Standards Test. The formative data were used to determine how the implementation process affected both teachers and students. Behaviors and outcomes will guide future changes that will increase student academic growth and engagement. The primary research question for the formative evaluation is how Mitchum Elementary can improve EL learner instruction.; The new program consisted of a restructuring, Target Time. In this design, EL learners are grouped by language level and English only students are grouped by CST results. In addition, a strong emphasis was given to research-based strategies and an accountability system that allowed monitoring of student growth. Implementing the restructuring of an intervention program was an enormous task, but the impact had positive results, some academic and some professionally. Although the results did not reflect enough change in the statistical or practical results of the EL learners, this researcher would propose that the study had a tremendous impact on the professional community that will extend to the academic success of EL learners in the near future.

THE IMPACT OF RESTRUCTURING THE LANGUAGE ARTS INTERVENTION PROGRAM AND ITS EFFECT ON THE
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF ENGLISH
LANGUAGE LEARNERS
by
Denise L. Parnell
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
May 2008
Copyright 2007 Denise L. Parnell